Hawaiian island bans smoking in cars with children

HONOLULU -- Plan to light up while on the road with children? You won't be doing that on one Hawaiian island that just banned the practice.

Author:
Christopher Buchanan

Published:
9:51 AM PDT October 23, 2017

Updated:
9:51 AM PDT October 23, 2017

HONOLULU -- Plan to light up while on the road with children? You won't be doing that on one Hawaiian island that just banned the practice.

Hawaii NBC affiliate KHNL reports that the island of Oahu has approved a law that bans smoking traditional or electronic cigarettes in a car if a person under 18 is a passenger.

The bill aims to curb the health risks from secondhand smoke.

"Sometimes you wish you didn't have to pass such laws and sign such laws into effect because you would hope that common sense would get people to respond according," Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said in a press conference shared on social media. "But unfortunately, we human beings are not perfect and we make mistakes and sometimes we don't think about the best interests of the public and our own keiki [children]."

KHNL reports that Hawaii and Kauai counties already have similar laws in place.

A similar bill was introduced in Georgia during the 2015-2016 regular session and overwhelmingly passed the State Senate in a 37-3 vote. However, the bill apparently stalled in the Georgia Houses of Representatives and was never signed into law by the governor. That bill would have made it illegal to smoke in a car with any person under the age of 15 present.